GTFOplan #105: Anchoring Fail! Cruise Ship Barely Misses Us! (Plus Exclusive Winch Maintenance)

IN THIS VIDEO: We sail to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, making a game out of our lazy sailing-can we hoist the mainsail without it snagging in the lazy jacks? But our fun quickly turns into panic when we realize we've made a critical anchoring mistake-we're too close to the channel. Suddenly, a massive cruise ship is bearing down on GoTFO?, narrowly missing us! That heart-pounding moment teaches us a valuable lesson, and we quickly relocate to a mooring ball across the bay. With the boat now safely secured, Dennis tackles the annual winch service, and we believe we're the first to document how to service Lewmar size 46 and 50 winches. As he works, Dennis casually mentions a long shaft, and Ann-never one to let an opportunity slip-fires back with an innuendo, setting off a chain reaction of playful jokes. Once the winch is reassembled, something doesn't sound quite right, so Dennis dives into troubleshooting while Ann gets creative. She repurposes our dinghy pole into a dive flag, swapping out the broken all-around white dinghy light for the Alpha flag-the international symbol for divers in the water. Naturally, the dinghy pole also becomes prime material for more jokes. We then set sail for Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe, flying across the water at nearly 9 knots-almost half the wind speed. After anchoring, we take Schatzi for a stroll through town, soaking in the French charm, complete with a cordonnerie (shoemaker) and picturesque streets. The ferry shuttles back and forth, but at one point, we witness something we've never seen before-it actually picks up a ginormous mooring ball! Meanwhile, several wing foilers carve effortlessly across the waves, fueling our dreams of learning the sport in the future. Supplies to service your Harken winches: -High-performance winch Oil by Lewmar -Harken Winch Grease -Isopropyl Alcohol, Mineral Spirits, Diesel or Gasoline -Toothbrush or similar brush to apply winch grease -Allen Key metric set -Flat head screw driver CURRENT LOCATION: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV-GTFO/ ABOUT OUR CATAMARAN: We love our new Balance 482 - it's a perfect size for a cruising couple to handle and is a great "balance" of performance and comfort. One of our favorite features is the excellent ventilation since we mostly live as "hookers" (aka at anchor) where the boat automatically turns into the wind so we stay cool and we don't need to battle mold. We also have starlink for easy off-grid life. Our 2400 watt solar panel array also means we rarely need to run an engine to charge our batteries. ABOUT US: We saved for a our future boat, sold everything that we owned, and shipped the rest in a container to Cape Town, South Africa. We then flew there and explored South Africa by way of a safari and touring Cape Town before moving aboard our boat. We then sailed to Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Fernando de Naronha (Brazil), Martinique, Sint Maarten (Dutch and French side), the US Virgin Islands (Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas), the British Virgin Islands (Anegada, Norman Island, Jost van Dyke, and Anegada), The Bahamas (Inagua, Crooked Island, Long Island, George Town, Staniel Cay, the Exumas, and Eleuthera). We then sailed back to the United States, making landfall in Cape Canaveral, Florida. From there our destinations are endless! Both Dennis and Ann grew up military brats with Army fathers. Dennis (the Colonel) served 30 years in the US Army and his retirement pension helped us retire in our 50s. Ann (the ship's Captain) wrote Test Automation in Python and Java. Dennis and Ann met on Match.com where Ann had in her profile "Do you want to sail the world with me?" Ann easily brought Dennis into sailing, and he loved the GTFOplan of retiring early and sailing the world. After many years of saving, living on one income but earning two, and cutting back on everything possible, they saved enough to buy a Balance 482. Follow them as they get real about boat life and all the hassles of buying a new boat because we all know N.E.W. means Not Everything Works. Kisses, Ann & Dennis Twitter: @GTFOplan Facebook: https://facebook.com/anndennis.snellikin.3 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtfoplan/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/gtfoplan Email: gtfoplan@gmail.com